Love you guys!! My 2 cents on diving football vs baseball: Diving head first into first base is a slide. When you make contact with the ground your body slows your momentum. Comparison studies show running straight through the bag actually helps you get there faster,rather than launching yourself into the ground the last few feet before the bag. And that's only relevant at first and at home because otherwise you have to stop at the bag. In football, you do not slow your momentum as you launch forward running for a ball. instead, you are actually gaining momentum and utilizing the momentum you already have to reach a trajectory designed to make it more likely to reach the ball with the furthest point of your body--your hands--without giving up momentum.